Foregone Conclusion
by dramahart
Summary: 5th year Snape and Lily are practicing their potion-making and interpersonal skills, but trouble is brewing around the corner. Snily drabble. Canon-ish, pre-Black Lake scene.


**Rating: T. Lily and Snape, 5th year, canon, pre-Black Lake incident.** **This is my first upload, so be gentle with me. :) I'm clearly not JK Rowling and don't own any of her characters or original story-line. Also, props to anyone who figures out what potion they're practicing...**

FOREGONE CONCLUSION

A light grey mist shimmered over their shared cauldron in the quiet dungeon, slightly distorting the textbook propped against the box of valerian root that the two O.W.L. students were peering at every so often. Severus watched as Lily carefully poured the powdered root of asphodel into the potion, but quickly diverted his attention to the ingredients in front of him when her green eyes lifted.

"How's it going with the sopophorous bean, Sev?" Her voice was light and relaxed, so he took the chance to look up. She stirred the potion twice clockwise, and then hopped up to sit on the table, scooting away from the brew and closer to Severus. He cleared his throat.

"Good. I tried crushing it instead of cutting, and it releases far more juice."

"Did Slughorn tell you to do that?" She peered down at his hands.

"No. But cutting it wasn't working, and there aren't very many beans left, so I had to try something else." He sighed, thinking of the limited resources in the storage room. He hated that he wasn't able to purchase his own ingredients. Forced to rely on the school's inventory, he was limited in what he could brew, and how often. He spent an increasing amount of time in the dungeons, marking up his potions textbook. It was something he could do alone. Lily was busy with her Gryffindor friends most nights and weekends, and every time he entered his dorm, conversation fell silent. His roommates, Mulciber, Avery, and Dolohov didn't really trust him with their whispered plans, he knew. It showed how much they knew – they were too preoccupied with their own false self-importance. Lucius was the key to ingratiating oneself with the Dark Lord, and he was impressed with Severus' brewing abilities. He told himself was okay that Lily didn't really have time for him outside of Spinner's End. Unfortunately, she was _persona non grata_ where he was going.

But these thoughts soon left his head as Lily leaned nearer and the scent of her green apple shampoo surrounded him.

"Brilliant, Sev. Show me?" He froze for a moment when he realized how close she was, looking into her wide eyes. At first, they were flicking back and forth from the ingredients he was preparing to the cauldron near them, no doubt considering other modifications they could make to the standard recipe. But after he failed to respond, she turned her gaze onto his face, and he felt his cheeks warm. Funny, but he could swear hers looked a little flushed as well. Her lips parted and like metal and a magnet, his eyes slid down to look at her mouth. Severus hoped she couldn't hear his heart thumping in his chest. Lily had always possessed a sort of gravitational pull, and it inexorably pulled him closer until he felt her light, sweet-smelling breath upon his own thin mouth. Her small hand hesitantly reached out and brushed his cheek, sliding into his lank, dark hair. But at her touch, Severus recoiled violently, sending a roll of parchment and the extra sopophorous beans skittering to the floor. Without meeting her eyeline, he kneeled down to pick up the fallen items, brows knit and lips pressed tightly together.

What was he thinking? Did he really expect that his popular, beautiful childhood friend would actually kiss him? No matter how welcome it was…no matter that he spent his nights imagining how her lips and body would feel pressed against his…he didn't belong with her and the people with whom she associated. His place was elsewhere, with those who valued him as a person. He willed his heart to calm, wiped his sweaty palms on his thighs, and stood up, his face a blank mask. Lily had turned away and was stirring the cauldron a little too quickly.

"Lily, slow down. You'll ruin the potion." He spoke on instinct.

"Are you kidding me?" She whipped around, fiery ponytail flying. "That's all you have to say to me? You're worried about the potion? Fuck the potion!" Her eyes glittered and she sucked her cheeks in angrily. Severus took a step back, eyes widening. "How obvious do I have to be? Don't you care for me at all, Sev?"

He hesitated a beat too long in his reply. "Lily, of course I – "

"Save it, Severus. I know I'm not a priority to you anymore." His heart sank at her use of his full name. He hadn't realized his hopes were up until they were dashed. Lily turned on her heel, vanished the potion and banished the unused ingredients back to the storeroom, and scooped up her bag all before Severus had moved. When he finally got his feet moving, he threw his own bag over his shoulder and raced after her, tripping a bit on his baggy robes.

Just as he caught up to her, he heard voices around the corner. There weren't many people who frequented the dungeons at this time of night who would take kindly to him keeping company with Lily Evans. On an impulse, Severus grabbed wildly for Lily's arm and yanked her with him behind an old tapestry depicting a rather detailed medieval witch burning. Once again, they found themselves close enough to share body heat. Lily's messy ponytail tickled Severus' upper arm as she wrenched herself out of his slackened grip, but she didn't immediately move away. Instead, she sucked in a breath and looked up at Severus from beneath her eyelashes. Was this his chance? He raised a trembling hand to her face and just barely touched her lips with his thumb. Heat flared in his lower stomach when she leaned into his caress and wrapped her hands around his waist.

But just then, as luck would have it, the voices of the pair around the corner grew louder and their words plainer to make out.

"What progress have you made with the other students?" Lucius' silky, quiet voice intoned.

"Avery and Dolohov are committed to the cause." Mulciber answered, sounding proud.

"Yes, yes. So you've said before. Have you made any new inroads? The Dark Lord needs brains as well as brawn, Mulciber." Lucius sounded bored. Behind the tapestry, Lily stared up at Severus, eyes wide and hands clenching his robes. "What are your thoughts on Snape?" Severus swallowed, his mouth suddenly dry. He prayed Malfoy and Mulciber wouldn't disclose any more sensitive information in such an insecure setting but had a feeling such discretion was too lofty a hope.

"Snape? I don't trust him. He's too quiet, and still hangs around with that mudblood Evans. I'd at least understand if he was just using her to get off. But I don't think that's the case."

Severus dropped his hand from Lily's face, his stomach curling in embarrassment.

"The Dark Lord isn't interested in schoolyard gossip, Mulciber." Lucius drawled. "This just shows how much your powers of observation are wanting. His skills in the potions classroom have not gone unnoticed by either side. Whomever he allies himself with will gain a future potions master. That could be the tip the scale needs. Would it surprise you to know he'll be taking the Mark this summer solstice?" Mulciber was silent. Lily's hands fell from Severus' robes and she pressed herself back against the wall of the alcove. "You would do well to consider more angles on potential recruits in the future…" The sound of his voice trailed off as their footsteps echoed down the hall.

Severus stood frozen once more, and waited for Lily to speak.

"Is it true?" She choked out. He nodded stiffly. She covered her mouth with her cloak and squeezed her eyes shut.

"Why? Do you really agree with him? Do you actually support his…his ideals?" her muffled, bitter voice seemed to bite off the last phrase. He lifted one shoulder, and when she glared at him, he responded.

"Enough. I have a place with them. Someone will need me, for once."

"That's shit logic, and you know it."

He didn't say anything.

"Now you're just going to ignore me?" A pause. "Fine. I can do that too." He felt the air shift, smelled her shampoo once more, and when he opened his eyes, she was gone.


End file.
